Underwater view ports have been used on ships, boats and other watercraft for decorative and safety purposes, as well as to aid exploration of the surrounding water. In order to see outside the watercraft from the interior, conventional view ports use a frame to mount a substantially transparent window to the hull. Smaller view ports have used a single piece, thru-hull having a mechanically or chemically fastened window inside the thru-hull fitting.
Similarly, lighting has been applied to these same types of watercraft to improve visibility during the dark hours or during periods of overcast or cloudy conditions. Lights have also been applied to illuminate the sides of the watercraft in order to better visualize the watercraft from a distance, to further enhance the appearance of the watercraft, and to illuminate the surrounding water area. Lights have been mounted in various locations on the deck or hull of the watercraft to accomplish this purpose.
Thru-hull mounted lights are often in the form of light strips that are composed of a string of high intensity light bulbs contained within a housing or a plurality of individual lights within a housing, that are applied externally along the perimeter of the hull and oriented to shine downwards along the hull in the direction of the water. Various applications of the housings and light shields are used to redirect the light rays from the light source downward along the surface of the hull, including the ability to adjust the housings in order to project the light beams along a desired path. Although such configurations provide substantial illumination of the hull sides, they are not waterproof or watertight and therefore are placed substantially higher than the waterline. Thus, little to no illumination of the surrounding water area is provided as the light intensity fades considerably from the light source as it reaches the waterline. Furthermore, because the light rays are directed downward along the surface of the hull, illumination is restricted primarily to the line of the watercraft and therefore does not deviate outward into the surrounding water and may be easily obstructed by other accessories that are attached to or protruding outwards along the sides of the watercraft which are closer to the waterline. Also, lights mounted on the exterior of the boat often require replacement and repair from outside the boat rather than from the inside of the boat which usually is fairly cumbersome.
In order to better project the light onto the surface of the water from a light source placed above the waterline, the lights have been extended outwards such that they are spaced farther away from the hull surface. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,149 discloses a utility light apparatus that is mounted on a gunwale of a boat by applying the light to the distal end of a conventional fishing rod holder such that the light extends out over the side of the boat in an arm-like fashion. Therefore, the extended light pathway illuminates more of the water's surface and is less likely to be obstructed by other appurtenances placed on the side of the boat. However, unless the height of the boat is relatively shallow, the depth to which the light penetrates the water is still very limited by the light intensity as the light source is placed well above the waterline at the gunwale of the boat. Thus, the conventional hull or deck mounted lights do not provide sufficient lighting for visualizing harmful objects within the path of the watercraft or exploring the water around and below the watercraft. Furthermore, lights extending outward from the surface of the boat are easily damaged in comparison to lights which are integrated into the surface area of the boat such that they are only slightly protruding or not protruding at all.
More recently, lights have been integrated into the surface area of a watercraft hull by placing the lights into the thru-hull fittings of the hull thereby providing a watertight lighting apparatus which may be positioned below the waterline in order to significantly improve visualization of the surrounding water area and to enhance the aesthetics of the boat. Also, by placing the light assembly inside a thru-hull, replacement or repair of the light assembly can be done from the inside of the boat where access is normally much simpler than outside the boat. Typically, a light bulb or lamp supporting means is placed inside the thru-hull from inside the boat and a secured lens is placed between the lamp and the exterior opening of the thru-hull such that the light passes through the lens and into the water. The light bulb supporting means is surrounded by a housing that is either cylindrical for a secure fit against the cylindrical sides of the thru-hull or is a conical, tapered piece which narrows towards the interior of the boat. A flange is placed flush against the exterior surface of the boat at the thru-hull and one or a series of O-rings or watertight sealants or adhesives are used to provide a watertight seal between the lens and the exterior opening of the thru-hull. The exterior flange is usually cast as one piece with a housing that penetrates the hull. This single casting then requires considerable machining to allow for placement of lenses and accessories that are used within the view port. Alternative constructs include manufacturing of the housing and flange as two separate pieces which are then welded together. The drawback of welded configurations is that if identical materials are not used for the separate pieces, welding the pieces together is difficult and the integrity of the weld may be suspect. When used in an underwater environment, failure of the weld could be catastrophic. Alternatively, the flange may be separate from the housing such that it is removably attached to the side of the hull by screws that are screwed into holes bored into the hull's surface or snapped into place by a snapping mechanism at the exterior opening of the thru-hull.
In addition, it is desirable to form the light housing and flange of two different types of metals in order to obtain the highest heat-dissipating light housing on the interior of the hull where the light source sits and the most anti-corrosive flange on the exterior of the hull where the assembly comes into contact with the water. A one-piece configuration of the housing and flange limits the entire assembly to one type of metal. Even where the flange and light housing are welded together, there are many metals which cannot be welded tightly to one another. Where the flange must be attached to the hull by screws, several screw-holes must be bored into the hull's surface thereby damaging the hull surface and providing additional inlets where water moisture may create damage. Where the flange is snapped into place, it is difficult to obtain a substantially watertight seal between the flange, lens and the exterior opening of the thru-hull.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a two-piece thru-hull light in which the flange and light housing are two separate pieces such that numerous combinations of metals may be used for their construction in order to provide a highly efficient assembly. Furthermore, the flange has a threaded surface which is screwed into the exterior surface of a cylindrical light housing thereby not damaging the hull surface and providing a substantially watertight seal.
It is also an object of this invention to secure the lighting apparatus to the hull in such a way that the hull is not damaged. The flange is comprised of a flanged mushroom-head shaped portion that is placed flush against the exterior surface of the hull opening. On the interior side of the hull opening, a compression ring surrounding the exterior surface of the light housing is compressed against the hull's interior surface by a threaded locking ring thereby securing the hull between the flange and compression ring. The locking ring compresses the compression ring against the hull by way of several screws whose ends abut the surface of the compression ring.
It is also an object of this invention that the cylindrical light housing may be adjustable so as to adapt to slight angle variations of the thru-hull sides with respect to the actual thru-hull opening on the exterior surface of the hull. Many thru-hull configurations use a ball and socket type of joint in order to allow the light housing angle to be adjusted. In the present invention, the screws which are threaded through the locking ring that serve to secure the compression ring against the interior surface of the hull may be threaded individually at different heights thereby tilting the compression ring at various angles in order to accommodate the thru-hull shape.
It is also an object of this invention that the assembly may be alternatively used to house a camera rather than a light. Many thru-hull light configurations use a concave lens to diverge the light rays for greater light dispersion through the water. However, such a lens would distort a camera view and therefore a flat lens is utilized in the present invention.
It is also an object of this invention that the assembly may alternatively house an integral ballast assembly such that a high intensity discharge (HID) lamp may be used as the light source without compromising the necessary ballast assembly to moisture outside the watertight assembly. The use of an HID lamp is preferable over incandescent or fluorescent lamps as HID lamps are more energy efficient, longer lasting, and provide a greater area of illumination despite its smaller size.